Identifying Under- and Overperforming Countries in Research Related to Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) science is governed by a patchwork of policies that vary both between and within countries. To assess how this atypical environment may have influenced this field's development, publication data were analyzed to evaluate the relative performance of countries in the cumulative production of hESC-related research articles versus other areas of biomedical research. Overperforming countries generally offered permissive policy environments for hESC research, while underperforming countries were characterized by protracted policy debates and ongoing uncertainty, regardless of their current policy environment.